


coffee after swim meet?

by throam (orphan_account)



Category: Panic! at the Disco
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Swim Team AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 12:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11874651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/throam
Summary: Brendon definitely did want to try out for the swim team. Or, well. maybe there might have been a reason.





	coffee after swim meet?

**Author's Note:**

> based on a prompt from anon on tumblr: a high school AU where ryan is captain of the swim team (but super shy actually) and brendon is a huge dork with a gigantic crush on him and he always stays after to watch him swim and ahhh! 
> 
> enjoy, anon!

"Spence, you have to!" Brendon pleaded, hanging on to Spencer's shoulder.

"Brendon, I am not going to join the swim team with you! Why do you even want to, anyways? I mean, can you even swim?" Spencer asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

"I'll have you know I can swim." Brendon said, defiantly, walking a step or two behind. "Come on, Spence, it'll be fun!" 

"You just want an excuse to look at shirtless guys, don't you?" 

Brendon stuttered as his cheeks flushed pink. "Um, no! I just thought it'd be a lot of fun. But I guess it doesn't matter, right? It was a dumb idea anyway." he said, a little too quickly. 

There was a moment or two of silence between them before the bell rang for third period, temporarily muting the crowded hall. 

"I'll see you in music." Spencer said amiably, closing his locker and walking to his next class.

***

Brendon, after an hour of contemplating and ignoring his Physics teacher, that he was going to join the swim team, with or without Spencer by his side. It was extra credit, after all, what could go wrong? 

After the bell had rang, signifying the end of school, he semi-reluctantly made his way to the pool for tryouts, listening to the coach's endless lecture about how this club will not only provide extra credit, but will help in making friends and memories that will last a lifetime, blah blah. After what felt like an hour of being talked at, he saw him joining the established teammates; Ryan Ross, the captain of the swim team. Ryan wasn't particularly cool or popular within the school, but to Brendon, he was out of reach, having been admired from afar throughout this year and most of freshman year. 

Despite Spencer's wild guess, the fact that Brendon wanted to try out for the team as a feeble attempt of befriending Ryan was something he'd take to the grave - or well, at least to the pool. So maybe Brendon wasn't the best at swimming, per se, but he wasn't about to give up while he was halfway across the pool, so he kept slowly splashing himself along the lanes, finishing fourth from last, to two girls who'd decided to have a water fight and a kid who, well, was even worse than Brendon.

He climbed out of the pool sheepishly, while admittedly marvelling over the fact that he'd made it this far, yet awaiting his harsh critiques from the coach. 

"Yeah, kid," the coach began. "You have to swim it in under 46.7 seconds to make it onto the team." Brendon exhaled. "But on Tuesdays we have practice sessions, three-thirty 'til five, if you're interested." Brendon nodded, understandingly. Yeah, yeah. It was a stupid idea, really.

***

By Tuesday, he'd made a spontaneous desicion to give the stupid idea just one more shot. He turned up a little late, thanks to his last minute thinking and noticed only six other people, swimming in their respective lanes. Here goes nothing, he thought, as he climbed into the pool and started gliding, gliding being a questionable word there, across the pool, hopefully with a better technique than he'd shown the other day. He managed to swim three lengths, only swallowing water once, before he stopped briefly. Holding himself onto the side of the pool, he caught a glimpse of Ryan, sitting on one of the poolside benches and absently staring into the distance. He looked away quickly and took off again, hoping that Ryan doesn't decide that he wants to watch the mediocre swimmers in the pool, no, not today. 

After an hour and a half of swimming between pauses, he hauled himself up the ladder and took his towel from the rail before scurrying away because that was far too close to Ryan than he'd like to be while wearing a minimal amount of clothes.

Once fully clothed, Brendon peered through the window maybe just a little, definitely not to watch Ryan swim though. Nope, he wasn't doing that. He pressed his forehead to the window a little, and watched as Ryan elegantly dived into the water, swiftly moving across the surface. And maybe Brendon lingered at the window for twelve minutes after that, or maybe he didn't. As long as nobody noticed. 

He explained to his mom why he was late, that he'd decided to practice his swimming, because after all, it was certainly always an ambition of his to be a swimmer. He convieniently left out the part about the cute captain of the team, though. 

***

"So you're practicing for the swim team?" Jon asked, pretending to be fascinated.

"He wants to watch wet shirtless guys splashing in a pool," Spencer added, looking amused at his own comment. "I bet he'll give up after a month."

"I bet you twenty that he won't." Jon amended, both of them not really caring that, hello, Brendon was right here.

"Sure, man. Deal. A real deal." Spencer said, shaking Jon's hand. "What makes you so confident?"

"Ryan Ross is the captain of the swim team." Jon smirked.

"Yeah. Wait, what?" Brendon scoffed in faux surprise, while Spencer gasped.

"That's unfair! You could've told me that before we put twenty bucks on it!" Spencer said, slamming the table. 

"You might as well just pay up now, Spence."

"Will both of you shut up?" Brendon almost yelled, looking between the two. "Is it so hard for you guys to understand that I have a genuine interest in signing up for the swim team?"

Spencer and Jon briefly glanced at each other in silence before the three of them burst out laughing, repeating the words 'genuine interest' in between their fits of laughter. 

***

Spencer eventually handed over the twenty dollars to Jon when Brendon told them that he in fact had been practicing for a month. Except he didn't include the part where he'd stand at the window to watch Ryan swim afterward, just for a little while. 

It was two months until Brendon was confident enough to try out for the team again, he'd been practicing every Tuesday, and he'd walk to the local pool every Saturday morning to get in another hour of practice a week. He told himself that he was only this determined to get onto the team in order to prove Spencer wrong, but he was well aware that he was determined for some other reason, too. 

He climbed into the pool along with the two other swimmers trying out, and he swam, not trying particularly hard, just swimming like he had been practicing for the last few weeks. 

"Fourty four seconds, impressive." the coach nodded as soon as Brendon had climbed out of the pool. "Swim meet is on Wednesdays and Fridays, from three thirty 'til six. Good job, kid, I'll see you there." When the coach walked away, Brendon let himself grin.

Maybe he was distracted, or maybe it was intentional, but Brendon stayed at the window for a while longer than usual that afternoon. After what was probably forty minutes, he got a call from Spencer, who worryingly seemed interested in finding out if he was on the team. 

"Yeah, meets are on Wednesday and Friday." Brendon explained, proud of himself.

"Fucker!" Spencer exclaimed down the phone. 

"I won't miss pizza night, we finish at six on Fridays."

"No, I bet Jon another ten bucks that you wouldn't actually get on the team." Spencer said wearily.

"Rude much," 

"Well I'll see you tomorrow then, B."

"See ya." Brendon sang as he closed his phone, looking through the window as he did so. Ryan wasn't in the pool anymore, which was definitely Brendon's cue to leave; but his cue was apparently a little late, because the changing room doors swung open as Ryan stepped out, looking startled when he saw Brendon. 

"Oh, um. Hi. Brendon, right?" Brendon nodded, taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?"

"Yeah. You know, uh. The practice session ended about an hour ago." Ryan said timidly. It was the largest amount of words that Brendon had ever heard him say at once.

"Oh. Yeah, right. So it did. I'd better get going." Brendon chuckled, nervously. He took a step down the hall before he heard Ryan's voice again.

"Wait. You, uh. You weren't watching me swim, were you?" Brendon closed his eyes for a second, before turning to face Ryan.

"Yeah. You're really good. I just thought.. Maybe I could pick up some technique, you know? You're a lot better than I am and I could definitely use some technique, you know, to be able to uh. Swim better." he babbled nervously. 

"Oh. Uh, thanks. You have gotten a lot better. Since you first tried out, I mean."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So. I probably, uh. I should go. Before it gets dark."

"It's already kinda dark. Do you need a ride home?" Ryan asked sheepishly.

"Uh." Brendon said, hoping to God that he wasn't blushing, to no avail. "Yeah. Sure. That'd be great, thanks." he smiled, and Ryan returned a shy smile.

*** 

"Just that house there." Brendon said, cutting himself off mid-sentence. Ryan pulled up outside Brendon's house. "So, um. I'll see you tomorrow. Or whenever, I mean."

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." Ryan smiled. It felt like a confirmation to Brendon. It made him smile back, just a little. He greeted his parents and ran to his room, hitting Spencer's speed dial as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Dude!" Brendon exclaimed into the phone.

"What!" Spencer replied with mock enthusiasm.

"Ryan drove me home from swim practice." Brendon squealed.

"That's bullshit, Bren."

"No, I swear!"

"We'll see. I gotta go, mom's calling."

"Ok, ok. See ya."

***

"Hey." Ryan greeted Brendon in the hallway before the first bell. 

"Oh, hi." Brendon replied, taken aback. 

"So, are you excited for your first swim meet tonight?" Ryan asked, sounding less monotone than usual.

Huh, yeah, Brendon thought. Swimming. The reason he talked to Ryan.

"Yeah! I'm so excited." he replied, not sure of what to say. Spencer and Jon walked over, loudly greeting Brendon, and Ryan mumbled something about going to his locker before taking off. 

"Bren! He was talking to you, no shit? I thought you were actually bullshitting me." Spencer said, impressed. 

"He was talking to me before you came along, you bitch." 

"Everything happens for a reason," Jon added, with a tone of mocking wisdom.

"You're so full of shit, Jon." Spencer agreed.

***

After last period, Brendon opened his locker to retrieve his swim kit, and a small note fell to the ground. 

'coffee after swim meet? -r.r x'

Brendon read it over and over, before leaning against his locker and beaming, closing it and heading off to the pool.


End file.
